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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Marissa Fordham had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies. Everyone knew of her, but no one knew her.

When Marissa is found brutally murdered, with her young daughter, Haley, resting her head on her mother's bloody breast, she sends the idyllic California town of Oak Knoll into a tailspin. Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See- No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not been for a chilling 911 call: a small child's voice saying, "My daddy hurt my mommy."

Sheriff's detective Tony Mendez faces a puzzle with nothing but pieces that won't fit. To assist with his witness, Haley, he calls teacher-turned-child advocate Anne Leone. Anne's life is hectic enough-she's a newlywed and a part- time student in child psychology, and she's the star witness in the See-No-Evil trial. But one look at Haley, alone and terrified, and Anne's heart is stolen.

As Tony and Anne begin to peel back the layers of Marissa Fordham's life, they find a clue fragment here, another there. And just when it seems Marissa has taken her secrets to the grave, they uncover a fact that puts Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer: Marissa Fordham never existed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tami Hoag is the #1 international bestselling author of thirty books. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Best Seller List with Night Sins, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. She lives in Southern California and Florida.

READING GROUP GUIDE:

A Reading Group Guide is a great way for book clubs to start a discussion with a set of questions to guide them. It also is good to make individual readers think about the book in different ways. This Discussion Questions for SECRETS TO THE GRAVE that the Penguin Publishing Website has starts with this one:

1. Do you think Vince Leone and Anne Navarre are equal partners in their relationship? In what ways are they unequal, and how are these inequalities balanced? Do you foresee conflict in their future due to the varying lenses they use to view violent crime and the justice system? How are they affected by their age difference, previous romantic relationships, his bullet wound?

That would be a good start but if I give you all the questions, it might spoil the book for you. For those of you who like to "look ahead" you can check the rest out HERE at Penguin's Website. Also, if you would like to read an excerpt of the book, you can find it HERE, and then I am pretty sure you will be REALLY wanting to read Tami Hoag's latest book!

GIVEAWAY

I NOTICED THAT I DON'T HAVE ANY

GIVEAWAYS ENDING UNTIL JANUARY 30!

SO I THOUGHT I'D TREAT MY LOYAL

FOLLOWERS TO A SPECIAL "QUICKIE"

GIVEAWAY OF A CURRENT BESTSELLER

BY TAMI HOAG, A FAVORITE AUTHOR OF

MINE. ONLY REALLY LOYAL FOLLOWERS

WILL ENTER AS THEY ARE THE ONES

WHO COME BY EACH DAY AND KNOW

WHAT IS UP FOR GRABS--THANKS, GUYS!

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY

--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT --ALL ENTRIES/COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE IN ORDER TO COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY:COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT SECRETS TO THE GRAVE ABOVE THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BESTSELLING BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY:BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

+1 MORE ENTRY:COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING ON TAMI HOAG'S WEBSITE HERE. PERHAPS YOU MIGHT COMMENT ON ANOTHER BOOK OF HERS YOU HAVE READ, OR WOULD LIKE TO READ

116
comments:

I love everything about the sound of this book. I have read a few of Tami's books. None recently so I would love to read some of her new work and this one sounds fantastic.

+ 1 After checking her blog and trying to get my memory to work her books I've read I'm pretty sure are Lucky's Lady, Still Waters, Cry Wolf, Dark Paradise, Night Sins, Guilty as Sin, A Thin Dark Line, Dust to Dust and Ashes to Ashes.

I love suspense thrillers and from your review I would say that this one is stacking up to be a great novel. I often wonder how an author picks some of their locations that they center their novel around. I never heard of the town Oak Knoll. So I checked out Google Maps and it appears to be just north of Napa. I also found out that the novel “Deeper than the Dead” also is centered in the town of Oak Knoll. I am very interested in reading this novel.

I will drop my name in your black and white houndstooth detective hat and hope that this quickie giveaway brings me a bit of luck. Thanks for the opportunity.

The ending of the About the Book" section is shocking that the murder victim never existed! It makes me think that she assumed a differen name for a reason yet todisclosed. This book sounds very mysterious and suspenseful. I have always wanted to try one of her books but put it off because of the long list of authors that I already love. Would love to add to her to my list.

I think I would like to read "Kill the Messenger" because of the title. I worked at one agency for over 17 1/2 years and often found that the people at the top never wanted to deliver bad news. In this case, the messenger has been orphaned and living in Chinatown with someone good enough to take him in. I have found that all of the Chinatowns that I have visited are very different from each other so I am very interested in the setting of that book.

I do not believe that I have ever read one of her books! And, I have no idea why not because several of them caught my eye on her web site...The Last White Knight,....And, she's cold from Oct. to June! So am I but, I live on the East Coast.

Tami was born in Iowa and raised in MN. You know we claim anyone we can up here, even if they weren't necessarily born in MN! I can't remember the last book of hers I read, there was something a long time ago set in MN. Time to remedy that situation! Thanks!JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

The last sentence that says the victim didn't even exist makes me want to start reading. I am a big Tami Hoag fan so my entering this contest is a no brainer *wink*Love & Hugs,Pampk4290(at)comcast(dot)net

I'm a fan of Tami and think that she writes a suspenseful story.I found that Tami first was a self published writer and was from Minnesota before moving to warmer climates.Mike Draper mikedraper1042@yahoo.comI am also a follower.Mike

I'd love to win this book because I think it sounds like a great mystery/thriller. It would be interesting to see how the murder of a person that never existed gets solved.Thanks for the giveaway!megalon22 at yahoo dot com

It's rather surprising considering the number of books I read and the number she has published, but I don't thing I have ever read any of her books. At least from looking at her website, nothing seemed really familiar.